The OUTRAGEOUS Costs Of Owning a Private Jet... (Can We Still Afford It?) 

Trust me, DO NOT buy a cheap jet unless you know what you are getting into haha. I hope you enjoyed this real talk discussing the real numbers associated with our first "small" maintenance checkup. There are sooooo many other costs I didn't mention. Pilot salary, hangar rent, taxes, registration, landing fees, etc, etc... Subscribe for more jet videos!

A shop who holds you plane for 3 months, then tells you, “we can’t work on it” deserves to have their name in this video.

Jets definitely fall into the "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" category.

During my practice, I had several clients who were bitten by the private jet bug. Only one of them could really afford it. He was the sole owner of a company doing about $500MM in annual sales. The rest came to the same realization to which you have come. If it isn't making money for you, you should not buy it. It is a luxury which few can afford.

That’s not that bad. I just finished a $105,000 panel job on a Cessna 340. that took 1.5 years. 2022 annual was $27,000, flew the airplane to the avionics shop, they took their sweet time, airplane went out of annual. Had to get an annual done on the field it was at. Just got the bill - $38,000 and most of the items found were due to sitting for 1.5 yrs. Welcome to aviation

Tremendous life experiences don’t have to be permanent lifestyles! The two happiest days of an aircraft owner, the day he buys it and the day he sells it.

Actually, not as bad as I was thinking it would be. I once got hosed on an annual inspection on my piston plane for $21,000.00

I loved this guy in “saved by the bell.”

Honestly, that rvsm recertification price is more then double what we charge. Another thing, one of my customers rolls Cessna CJ's on inspections like hot cakes and turns them all within a couple weeks on average. Very skilled Cessna guys. If you're interested in flying to Toronto Canada for your next one, hit me up!

Is it just me or was anyone else expecting over $100,000

I will recommend you keep the panel you have. Keeping in mind I have maybe all of 60 hours or so total; I did not pursue flying much farther because the cost of training had already been quite high for my budget. I may eventually get back to flying; I'm planning on buying another computer for a flight simulator. I have long had a beef with all-glass cockpits: It's an electronic gadget, it can fail. It can fail at the worst possible time. I think it great to have a moving map display that also includes other functions, keep it in the middle or to the right in the cockpit. You still want to have your steam gauges in front of the pilot. They're not going to go blank if a computer chip has a problem. I think there's another reason you see very few videos done about privately-owned jets: Most privately-owned jets ...exist for routine corporate travel. They're only "privately-owned" insofar as not intended for commercial airline or charter flight use. They're quite expensive, true, yet the corporation doesn't mind the expense (as much) because they allow corporate leadership to move about without the hassles of airline schedules and security checks. Such jets also can often use smaller airports, so might come closer to actual operating locations. Very few videos exist because most corporations have little interest in telling the world about how much they spend for travel....

Multiple aircraft owner here….I’ve owned 2 Beechcraft Twin Bonanzas: D50 Sweringen and G 50 (IGSO 480 powered), a Beechcraft Queen Air, and a Bellanca Super Vikings. Always found maintenance to be surprisingly expensive. Looking back at my life…. aircraft ownership and flying were very rewarding. Rule #1 Always buy the best example you can afford and seriously consider purchasing examples that are the most popular as this will insure a more successful buyer pool when your bird gets too expensive to maintain. SAFE FLYING

I used to work on these as a mechanic. The labor rate per hour is usually cheaper compared to automotive maintenance. It's normally the parts that get you.

Wasn't nearly as expensive as I had anticipated. Especially given that half of it was a once in a 25 year issue. Considering that a new equivalent would be around $5M, your shop visit cost around a half percent of its new cost. Not bad!

I'm not sure what you were expecting the upkeep of your personal jet to be, but to be honest I was surprised your first service was only $27k. As you may know, come engine overhaul time, it'll be around $100k (each). But if you can justify the costs, more power to you.

I new a guy back in the 1980's who was a Learjet mechanic in the Air Force, who planed on doing the same thing as a civilian, and I am surprised your cost are that low to be honest. It was informative watching the video and I wish you great success with your new used aircraft.

Most private jets are 2% of original purchase price (not used price) per year to maintain, that is why they are usually connected to a revenue stream or generate a revenue stream. Most yachts are 10% of purchase price per year, 15% the first year.

Not bad at all for your 1st maintenance. I was expecting 150k on the low side 300k mid and 600k+ on the high side. Anything below 80k maintenance/parts is a relief in this world.

After timing out an inspection, you probably could have gotten a Ferry Permit to relocate to a more cooperative FBO. Happens all the time. Would need the help of an IA (and helps to make friends with the local FSDO), but at least you would not be held hostage to a particular airfield. Panel and interior upgrades? I'd wait for a panel upgrade until you have to replace a gyro or similar. Instead of spending $10k to replace old broken components, do the upgrade then. It can take time to get it scheduled, so it may mean the jet just sits again. You'll get more reliability out of a digital panel, but you won't improve the resale value by a similar amount. If you plan to resell the jet in the near future...avoid upgrades.

Honestly it came out cheap! Jets are expensive, not only to buy but to maintain. Bless up! Great content!

I've worked for Learjet for nearly 44 years, 35 of that in material control handling parts. I've seen invoices for everything from rivets to engines over the years. The running gag all that time was that we were working the wrong end of the business. Just wait until the gear needs an overhaul. That's a good chunk of change too.

I'm the proud owner of a 1978 501SP that I purchased after selling my ,1979. I'm a pilot and fly my own which is a main reason I love my Citation. My personal annual budget with my engines on a manufacturer plan(and I budget fuel by the trip not in a lump of estimated hours) is approximately $200,000/yr. I'm just shy of 6'6" talk and have no trouble getting into the cockpit and find it quite comfortable. Love the video and my opinion on why there aren't more private jet owners doing videos about cost etc is if they're like me it's because my money and expenses are my business etc or because the majority are fractional owners instead of sole owners. That's my theory anyways

All I can say is thank you for this. Got this dream out of my system for now.

Well done for giving your dream a go. So many people are scared to face a risk and get nowhere as a result. As a military pilot I know the risks but never felt the cost. I will however look into owning a helicopter and I imagine the cost of ownership will be eye watering on another level.

Outstanding video, i have owned 14 planes. 2 turbines but no jets, i feel your pain. Find a good shop, stick with them, bring them beers, bring them donuts treat them well. They are not printing 501 mechanics anymore. Keep flying

If you dont already have them get some engine intake/ exhaust covers or plugs, keeps birds or bug from building nests in the engines, Also keeps the fan from spinning in the winds when the bearings are some what dry on lubrication.

Hey, your video is an eye opening. Really enjoyed it. Great video for an A&P like me.

I am glad you are capable and able to buying a plane and keep it up …. Kudos to you … thank you for the information education and detail …. Have a safe flight ✈️ every time you are on it

The fact you have like 8 porsches,a lambo, 3 ferraris and like 12 other super cars, not to mention other businesses and investements and youtube channels..affordability of the jet wasnt really to much of a concern. Love the fact we can learn about it and whats involved.. thanks!!

I know the prices seem shocking, but considering the factors of precision/safety and also of economies of scale (how many gear extension nitrogen bottles for a Citation 501 do you think the factory needs to produce?), I'd say $27K was a pretty reasonable price, ESPECIALLY when you consider from the shop's perspective they got your bird in right away, and all the hustling they did for you. I used to fly the C-130 Hercules, and $27K bought one-quarter of a propeller blade.

Thank you for posting this all, you help me and many others understand what it takes to power dreams.

Thank you for talking about costs 😊😊❤ I personally Love your up front tell NO Lies. The same with me on BUYING an old Fire Engine ( 1971 SeaGrave 750 gallon water tank) when I had DOT inspection there were cost invalid. Then Transmission problems. Multiple TOWS to repair shop. But at end of the day. The big SMILE get from kids and parents with kids getting in cab, being able to move around the whole front cab, unlike modern FD engine that have engine blocking the cab. I love going through the old girl, fixing wiring issues. Being able to do quick chage out of Light Bars. Adding electronic Sirens. It only had the BIG Federal "Q" on nose, when I got her. You can even stand up inside Pump area underneath to understand what the plumbing is like. The water Tank doesn't LEAK.

Here before all the “I knew you couldn’t afford it” comments 😂

All those upcoming maintenance issues was why they sold the jet for a discounts. However, it is really cool to see the actual ownership experience.

Best most honest clip I have ever seen on U tube .Thanks buddy . Very entertaining Glad it ain't my money

Keep on going Jeffrey. Happy New Year to y'all 🙏🙏

I've owned two aircraft. The most expensive was a 1949 Cessna 140, at $20K. The least expensive was a homebuilt biplane of my own making, which cost me about $8K. I won first place at my local EAA annual fly with that little rocket. The plane still flies today, 23 years later. Perhaps a jet is in my future ;-).

The insane costs of aviation parts might make one assume that the manufacturers are swimming in profits, but in fact, according to GAMA, most of them are actually struggling to stay in business. I guess this has to do with low demand (diseconomies of scale) since not many people buy these parts, and the costs associated with R&D as well as airworthiness certification.

I worked part time in a paint and interior shop 25 years ago. We were getting up to $20,000 per seat to refurbish (not remanufacture) them to like new. We even color-matched the screw heads to the interior color with Imron paint.

I'd be fine with the steam gauges. I flew both on the airlines and the best part of the glass was the map. The attitude indicator, and the other flight instruments I never found any advantage of the glass over the steam gauges. And the vertical tape altimeter, airspeed and VSI lacks the clock position. Which requires more intense interpretation. For takeoff and climb we'd set power with N1 or EPR. But for maneuvering we'd use fuel flow. With glass it was reverted to little digital numbers that were hard to see. I remember thinking "how is this an improvement?". I've also taken off and had both the capt. and F/O's screens go black. With just FMC FAIL displayed. They came back shortly after, but when you lose the screen you lose it all. I can think of a lot of other things to use that money for, like fuel and maintenance.

The SP I flew back in the day was 82k for a Phase, and some minor upgrades. No glass please, you will exceed the value of the plane. Also the interior looks good. Pick your battles.

At this point what you should do is figure out end-of-life plan. Let's say you want to get 3 more years out of it and another 500 hours. Now, figure out hourly cost for each upgrade. For example, interior at 50k total will cost you $100 per hour. Keep in mind that your resale value will not change much no matter how much money you invest. It will all be sunk cost. It is possible that at the end of 3 years you will have to sell it for scrap anyway, depending on what major repairs will be required.

Thanks for sharing man!

Sorry for your pain! Truly, thank you for this information.

First of all, congradulations stepping up to a jet! Big adventure! I service jets from this catagory, up to old G-IV, G-IV, Falcon 900 and so forth. You are absolutly , totally responsible for not educating yourself first. You are the owner that we mechanics giggle about. That said, it sounds like the 3rd shop shot you a pretty fair deal. We get experience when we dont get what we want. You now have experience. You might conssider a independant mechanic that will lay out a resonable 5 year maintenance guestimate. Kilobuck or 3. This will help you identify "airplane killers" like life limited parts, major engine work, etcetera. As soon as someone mentions part 135 (or part 134 and 1/2)......... RUN!!!!!!! BLESSINGS! You are on a great learning curve! Todd

I owned a 1976 B55 Baron back in 1985. It was low time, and in pristine condition. The annual inspection still cost me (Beechcraft West) $9,000 which would be about $90,000 today. Airplanes are just plain expensive.

if your in USA, then you should try here in Australia, we are on the other side of the world, prices are a lot more... well done for getting yourself a nice private jet, it looks really nice. Enjoy flying, and safe travels.

Freedom is priceless. You made a great purchase. The entire reason why you work so hard is so you can do things like this. Keep working hard, and keep enjoying your life. You’ll make it back.

Even if it costs $200-300k a year for fixed/variable costs on 100ish hours of flying, the cost of money (interest) alone on a newer jet in low 7 figure range can easily surpass that. Amortization is your friend, dont think about the "cash" hit. That $10k bottle is basically a $1k/yr expense.

Jeff, As an old time pilot who flies on the cheap, leave the interior and panel. Here's why. First my example. I fly a 1975 V35B with the original King KX-170/175B radio and a KMA-20 audio panel which are probably older than your father and they work great. The only two modern things on the panel is the JP!-830 and the GTX 345 xpdr. No issues. My GPS is Adventure Pilot iFly on an iPad4+ I bought refurbed for $270. Works perfect. And I hand fly 3, 31/2 hour trips all the time. No a/p. In the Baron I used the a/p sparingly. I don't fly too much IFR anymore, I don't like the stress, but in the Baron I talk about, I did recurrency training once a year. My bird before that was the B58TC with a King/Collins stack also no issues in over a thousand hours and I fly approaches down to 300 feet perfectly, all hand flown even though I had a KFC200 FD. I did install a KLN94. It was also a FIKI certified but never turned on the system. Six packs work great as do ILS and GPS RNAV approaches which you have. I knew a guy who had a glass cockpit and he spent too much time with his head in the cockpit. Not enough outside scan and not enough hand flying. He isn't here anymore destroying a beautiful M20J in the process. He was always fiddleing with the avionics. Glass panels suffer from buttonology and to much info, reduce scan rates and cause target fixation. My opinion. I am a West Coast pilot but have flown all over the country and OSH at least 15 times. We don't have East Coast weather. Rule 1: Don't fix what isn't broken. You'll end up with more problems. As to the interior, it's nice and looks great. It's leather, it's a nice brown and it sits well. See Rule 1. 45 or so years ago I owned and operated with my bro three Viscounts VC-745d's flying entertainers (I was young like you are now). We did great running a safe but slender operation. 100% dispatch reliability. Leave the Avionics and interior alone unless there are huge issues. See Rule 1. We even left the avionics alone in the Viscounts, old but solid Collins 618M-1s and PN101s. 100 % reliability. again, see Rule 1. Oh, and as I commented before, you guys flew great, both of you. You both have it. Continue on. I've flown an SR-22 a few hours and the Bonanzas fly better. The only thing better is a P-51 and T-28 both of which I have flown as well.

I had three Citations (well I flew and managed them) over the years. I always used a Citation Service Center. These inspections should have taken 3 days, maybe 6 if something was found. That being said, their customer service did begin to fail towards the end of my career. But they still would have all of that done in a week.

This was a great video..Thank you

I remember buying 2 bleed off valve controllers for our Citation Encore. They arrived in a single Cool Whip container. $42,000.

I always say...the get- in price of an airplane is something, the stay- in price is something else. I upgraded and modified a Twin Commander nose to tail, flew it for a dozen years.. Luckily my wife hasn't yet seen the bills I accrued. Plane ownership is like operating a side business, and there's always some squawk needing attention. Complex aircraft ownership isn't for the faint of heart and makes little financial sense. The experience is priceless, however, and for everything else there is Master Card.

I bought a Twin Commander once and on the forum there was a guy who said one of the most expensive airplanes you can get is a free one. I suspect the guy who sold that one to you is still doing the happy dance.

Shop for a shop and get a ferry permit. Been there done that on the pressure bottle date. $11k for an annual isn't so bad. It's not Jets, it's AIRPLANES! My Dad use to tell me, "The cheapest thing you will put in an airplane is gas."

Used to fly a 501SP. Great little jet! You are proving the old adage…”the cheapest (fill in the blank) will always turn out to be the most expensive”

I've never owned an airplane, but I did have a 55 ft Hatteras sportfisher. Similar thing, the maintenance soon outstrips the purchase cost. I'd never own another one, its far cheaper to charter.

I'm very very very very VERY thankful, appreciative, happy, and excited for all of this absolutely incredible information. I will most definitely be taking this information seriously as I will also need this in the future. We have to seriously meet up eventually. I love hearing how you share your experience along with how you are feeling about dealing with the jets expenses. It gives me a very realistic look at how things go. You are doing a FANTASTIC job.💯 (In the third person) do I think that y'all should reach out and look into getting glass panels installed in the jet..........what will I say.......YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! That was extremely hilarious at 18:18 of the video Jeffrey, you said "What the heck is that?!" "It's so loud!!" LOL 😆 🤣 😂 😹 You know the interior looks amazing, however I have a good feeling that you can find some cool designs.

"Don't even get me started on _______ " Boat/ship owners had a couple -centuries- millennia head start on that famous line. Still hilarious after all these years! 🤣🤣🤣

I own a jet provost. Keeping these things flying is a constant struggle! Good luck.

I fly a Citation X, for a private Jet charter company, and those X's are ALWAYS down for maintenance!! Don't even think of owning a private Jet unless you have UNLIMITED CASH. You have been warned!

I love and adore the inclusion of the great trailer park supervisor jim lahey stumbling drunk down the stairs when revealing the price. Perfect reaction.

Now you know. Since everything is determined by date, you can map out maintenance going forward. And be prepped. First thing I'd do is find a used set of maintenance manuals. Map out each phase with parts and labor. Determine what can be diy and what can't. Shop for labor just like parts. When you're not rushed, deals are easier.

I was 20k into my 421 before it even made it to its annual. I figure I will be into it 35k just in maintenance my first year of ownership and only flew it 8 hours. Good luck, we both need it. lol

Flying my 1980 Cessna 210 average annual budget was about 30k includes fuel for 100 hours of flying. Loved the plane but sold it and built a 125k loaded ifr glass panel Rv9a , and also fly for a regional airline (e175) 2nd career thanks to the pilot shortage! Love flying the jet which the last four years have been incredible!

Big plus if your citation is you don’t have to worry about VMC rolls if you lose one of the engines. I recall that when I did my type rating in the same model.

Thx for taking the risk and buying this. Myself and other experienced pilots would love to own one. I would guess it's entirely doable with 4-10 owners based at one airport. They are a dream to fly verses the propeller versions.

Love your videos, man! I've always wondered how you got to where you're at. To own all of these planes and cars, you must've done something right financially. Would be a cool video idea.

Imagine the maintenance costs of a commercial air liner: example emergency evacuation equipment. The gas inflation cartridges on the life jackets have a fixed life before mandatory replacement. Same with the life jacket itself. Jets over water require exit slides that transform into rafts. Rafts with emergency supplies that have a fixed life, like water, first aid kits, flashlights and ELTs with batteries, and flares, all in case a jet needs to survivably ditch on the high seas. Yet the number of incidents in civil aviation of the past 60 years where large numbers of passengers have had to rely on this equipment while floating on rafts awaiting rescue for many hours, is zero.

I love❤ your dedication to aviation! And the shine in your eyes! How about changing to a well maintained Mitsubishi MU-2? The howling of the Garrets331 is addictive! And the Speed not too bad compared to the citation. Do the math - perhaps that MU-2 would fit the bill in the long-term equation! Many happy landings on which ever aircraft you are!❤

Hey thats a good video, and I expected the invoice would have been higher...have fun being back in the air. 🙂

!! Love your show !! Honestly, Don't go for looks, ie. children spend all their money just to impress someone else ! Just maintain it, use it, enjoy it, when the time is right, sell it !

Parts for the old slotation are getting more expensive! But the reason they and getting rare is because they are very thirsty and when the engines time out the aircraft is not worth overhauling! Worked on citations for over 20 years!

Thank you for your honesty and your willingness to share the ups and many downs of ownership. I enjoy your channel and hope to catch more in the future. Gosh, I collect old lawnmowers and I thought they were expensive to maintain! lol take care KC

Great commentary… I’m not an aviator but I find your content very interesting…

6:27 In the Air Force on the KC135 we called those DADC checks. That stands for Digital Air Data Computer check. We would hook up equipment to the pitot/static system and introduce air pressure into the system to run up the airspeed and altitude instruments. It was an all shift (8 hours) job if everything went well. If something didn't check out, such as their was a leak somewhere, it could turn into a multi day job. lol. Good memories.

Seeing the interior upgrade equals 2 scheduled maintenance visits I would keep it as it is, it looks fine for the remaining life.

It would be great to see follow-up when you are finally done with this plane. Total cost of ownership vs total number of flight miles over a multi-year period. Most private jet folks sort of growl and demure when asked this.

As a former NAVY pilot, AA Captain AND GIV Chief Pilot for international company ..”DUH “ the SMART money just buys a MARQUIS Jet Card , or NETJETS membership. ANY jet you want , just girly rates , no pilot fixed costs , insurance , maintenance …hence the old adage for expenses “ If it flies , fucks or floats ..it’s CHEAPER to RENT it “

Well done jr for actually buying and owning the Citation, you did it! More than I ever did, so just pay the bills(seen worse restoring a car) for a year and jet off having fun. When you get a wet weekend, spreadsheet the costs versus just renting hours.

It's been my experience that the initial maintenance on an aircraft after purchase has been the most expensive. So, maybe, just maybe things will calm down a bit for you guys moving forward... Good luck!!

I'm a mechanic at Textron (Cessna Citation) with access to parts pricing and obviously labor times. It's insane yet we're busy all the time. There's a lot of money out there being spent on private jets.

This was a great story! Looks like I'll stick with my prop airplane for now!

This is how aviation prices work. Take a high full retail price for a part and multiply that by 15-20.

Aircraft part production runs are tiny compared to vehicles that do not fly and the required certs mean expensive quality control. Given the exotic processes used to manufacture engines their cost is impressively low for what they are and how long they stay on-wing. That's why it's hard for even rich countries to break into the market.

A new interior would be nice and make you feel good for a very short time, but with all the other expenses, it’s not worth spending the money. You might have to triple your auto sales to justify it. Think ROI, and that should make you see it’s not worth it. Thanks for this informative video.

I took a systems course on this jet in college. Love to see it still flying.

I'll take the 30 minute TSA line and a $800 first class ticket on Delta with champagne service any day, and buy a nice house with a Lambo with the savings! 😀 That said, I think it's SUPER COOL that these young men are able to have their own private jet!

I’m not familiar with Citations but I’d recommend looking at service centers in Wichita, KS where these were made. They will likely have good techs there that are familiar with the plane and costs should be lower than a shop in California.

Future reference you can always get a ferry permit to take it to a different shop! I work on these often and will say the oem will schedule you and have you ready to go and won’t put you on the back burner like that!

I know that if I get upset paying for lower gear oil for my 50 hp outboard, and I’m doing the labor, I’d sooner walk than pay for my own private jet airplane. But, with RU-vid, I get to experience this through you.

Owning a jet is the closest thing you can have to buying time. As a toy for trips to Vegas with your buddies, ridiculously expensive and not practical. But if you use it for work, making money, the costs can absolutely be worth it.

If you live in Arizona, its cheaper to either fly on JSX or get your memborship subscribe to the company that flies private jet out of KSDL so if you regain points on your membership, you can use the points to fly on their dedicated route on there private jet.

Imagine how the costs stack up if you own an airline. Their aircraft come out of a maintenance period straight back into a scheduled service. Hey, the 300 people at gate 23 we couldn't get a part for our plane can you all come back in a week?

I expected a higher bill. You could always part out the plane and probably double your money.

Dude Hershbar Citation!?! My man!!! Love the content, always wanted to explore one of these. Been flying since I was a little kid with my dad, young enough to fall asleep when trying to follow headings for him. Used to be my favorite thing in the world, go fly with Dad!

I no longer own an aircraft, but I have had a few of them. Just do the math on how much your monthly expenses would be if you keep it in the hanger and don’t fly it or anything, but just leave it sit there and don’t do anything other than maintain it as airworthy. You will be shocked if you include all of the costs for the hanger, insurance, payments if you are making them, annuals, things that have to be replaced regardless of the flight hours, but based on the calendar, and so forth..

Love your videos, I am a director of maintenance for a global express part 91 family owns it. When we cross the pond from Dallas love field with all the engine and airframe programs plus’s the 6500 gallons of fuel it’s about 90,000 dollars one way. The cost to these guys is like 100 dollars to us normal people.

I love the steam gauges, gives it a cool retro look.